28 - Sura - Oakland

4869 Telegraph Ave, Oakland, CA 94620, (510) 654-9292

Last visit - August 2009

(image from SFcitizen.com) As for safe Korean cuisine, Sura will be a pleasant choice. You're definitely going to be treated to a cornucopia of "banchan" side dishes as appetizers. I just have to say that of them all, I didn't enjoy that many of them. The kobocha pumpkin were good, but they didn't have the caramelized potatoes and I didn't find their kim chi very tasty. So I guess that makes it so-so at best. They usually give you a free steamed egg dish if you go in large parties and for birthdays you might get another treat.

I went with a huge party of ten and we ordered a bit of everything. The BBQ spicy chicken is a must, and I think it's their most delicious dish. Their bogulgi beef on a sizzling platter is pretty good too. The Bi bim bab is always safe when ordering Korean food, but it was not spectacular. I tried some of their clay pot soups, spicy tofu with mixed seafood, and that tasted pretty good. It gave my stomach a bad feeling though.

Now here's the thing that gets most people, their service IS slow. No matter how many times people try to be nice about it, they will fail to give you that "rest assured, you're in good hands" feeling that better restaurants can give you. They even have the service call button on every table, but pressing it will only alleviate your urge to press something. Not only that, they tend to mix up their orders. I have only been there twice, but both times they either gave us something extra or forgot to give us everything; albeit I went with big groups on both occasions.

I heard they have a grand ladies' restroom, but that never gave me a reason to visit a restaurant.